We all know that managers see the game through their own biased spectacles, but Arsene Wenger and Andre Villas-Boas took it to another level after Saturday’s North London derby. Wenger’s Arsenal won 5-2 after Villas-Boas’ Spurs had led 1-0 before having a man sent off. Wenger, in a post-match interview said that it was not clear that the sending off of Emmanuel Adebayor had an impact on the result. AVB, on the other hand, felt his side had been “on top from the first minute to the last.” They are both deluded. Are there any fans besides those of Chelsea who felt sorry for John Terry when he was lying prone on the turf in last week’s game versus Liverpool? No. Didn’t think so. Terry received some good news from the Stamford Bridge medical staff who said his knee injury would keep him out for weeks rather than months. That’s a shame. It is interesting to see that the web site VisitBritain lists the top five nations going to see EPL games are supporters from Ireland, Norway, USA, Spain, and Germany. That Ireland and Norway are at the top of the list is no surprise because of the level of support the game has in both countries. It is impressive that the United States is third on the list and goes to show the level of support for the game that exists in America. With the crowds attending MLS games and NBCs investment in the sport, is there any doubt remaining that the US is now a major soccer market?

Wilfried Zaha, the Crystal Palace winger is viewed by many to be the hottest property outside of the Premier League and the next England superstar. While Zaha has lived in England for most of his life, he was born in the Ivory Coast, so qualifies to play for the country of his birth as well as his adopted country. For years the FA and English media lambasted the Republic of Ireland for selecting players who were not born in Ireland. I guess the criticism does not apply when it comes to England. Zaha joins Tony Dorigo, Owen Hargreaves, Cyrille Regis, John Barnes, Terry Butcher, and Gary Bailey as non-English born players to represent England. Sunderland’s James McClean has received death threats because he refused to wear a red poppy on his shirt in honor of Remembrance Day. It would have been far easier for McClean to wear the poppy rather than take the stand he did. McLean is from a community for which the poppy represents all that is wrong with Imperialism and deserves credit for not being politically correct. It is ironic that his right to freedom of expression, the very right those who fought and died for, has been called into question. I know it is not the done thing in the modern game, but I am getting bored of players who score against their former clubs not celebrating. Therefore, it was refreshing to see Charlie Mulgrew wheel away in excitement when scoring for Celtic against his former club Aberdeen. It was one thing for Denis Law not to celebrate his back heal that relegated former club Manchester United down, but is it that much of a big deal if Kevin Nolan celebrates the winner for West Ham at Newcastle United?

There are two rules in the game that continue to throw up controversial situations – offside and handball. If FIFA’s International Board members have an ounce of common sense amongst them they will address them sooner rather than later. The offside rule should be adjusted to read that if any part of the attacker’s body is level with the defender then the player is onside. The current rule too often favors the defending team when that is not the intent of the law. The word intent with regard to fouling was dropped from the Laws of the Game some years ago, so why can’t the handball portion of the rule be adjusted too? Referees should be able to award a direct free kick for handball they consider to be intentional or denying a goal scoring opportunity, or an indirect free kick for any time the ball is played by the arm. This adjustment would go a long way to clearing up some controversial incidents in the game. If there is any doubt that Roman Abramovich and Chelsea Football Club represent all that is wrong with modern football then it was eliminated with the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo. Chelsea, despite their glowing reputation in America, had no class before the oligarch era started in 2003 and have demonstrated precious little since. The club’s sacking of the Swiss-Italian being the latest example of that lack of class. Yes, they have been very successful, but older Chelsea fans that followed the club since the dark days of the English Second Division might now be finally embarrassed by their owner. Throw in the fact that John Terry and Ashley Cole are the modern faces of the club and is it any wonder they have few fans among neutrals.

May 25, 1967, when they won the European Cup versus Inter Milan, and April 15, 1970, when they beat Leeds United in the semi-final of the same competition, are the two greatest nights in the history of Celtic Football Club. November 7, 2012 will now join them in the annals of Scotland’s greatest club. Barcelona, Europe’s best team, arrived at Celtic Park, Glasgow having lost only one game so far this season and that to Real Madrid in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup. Ninety minutes plus injury time later Barca left Paradise with a 2-1 loss to a team that was assembled for the average yearly wage of Lionel Messi. The Scottish champions may have defended resolutely, but their win was well deserved and a major boost to the much maligned Scottish Premier League. Last October Celtic trailed by three goals at half-time away to Kilmarnock. Neil Lennon was 45 minutes away from being sacked from his dream job. Two goals from Anthony Stokes and the equalizer from Charlie Mulgrew secured Celtic an unexpected draw, saved Lennon his job, and set the club on the road to the league title. Lennon and his young Celtic side have gone from strength to strength since that game and, with the win against Barcelona, are now on the verge of qualifying for the knockout stage of the Champions League. No manager deserves more success than Lennon who has endured a campaign of hatred against him in his time at Celtic.

Manchester City drew 2-2 at home to Ajax in the Champions League. It is a result that has all but ended their hopes in this year’s competition. The Dutch team, a long way from being the club that provided us with Total Football, still managed to dominate and outplay mega rich City at the City of Manchester Stadium. City may eventually buy the Champions League as their southern counterparts Chelsea did last season, but for now it is nice to know that they still are some way off landing the ultimate prize. Former Everton player, Michael Branch, was convicted of dealing drugs and sentenced to seven years in prison. Why a player who made a fortune for the Toffees had to deal in drugs is a question only he can answer. His story should serve as a warning to today's superstars that no matter how much money they earn it can all be lost if they don’t plan for the years after their careers. The sad fact is that Branch is not the first former player to fall afoul of the law and he certainly won't be the last.

San Jose Earthquakes went to the Home Depot Center and won the first leg of their MLS playoff tie with the defending champion Los Angeles Galaxy. The win should have set up the regular season’s best team to advance to the Western Conference Final. It didn’t. In the second leg, three first half goals, including two clinical finishes from Robbie Keane, showed that the Galaxy are not going to relinquish their MLS title without a fight. They won’t be playing the New York Red Bulls in the dream final though because Thierry Henry and his underachieving teammates crashed out of the play offs with a home loss to DC United. Hans Backe’s days as coach of the Red Bulls are surely numbered. The Society of Black Lawyers has threatened to lodge a formal complaint to police if Tottenham Hotspur Football Club does not stop its fans from singing songs or waving banners that use the word Yid or Yiddo. The SBL consider the words to be racist and anti-Semitic. Spurs have a long standing tradition of drawing support from London's Jewish community which has led to their fans using “Yid” as a term of endearment and according to a club statement “as a defence mechanism” against the anti-Semitism of fans of rival clubs. Some fans of Chelsea and West Ham in particular are known to hiss and sing songs like "Spurs are on their way to Belsen", in reference to the gas chambers used by the Germans to exterminate the Jews in World War II. It is therefore quite ironic that the fans of a club with a strong Jewish support, who embrace their Jewish connections, should somehow be charged with racist chanting, while the scum fans of other clubs who hiss and make Nazi salutes avoid prosecution.

Who knew Luis Suarez has a sense of humor? His dive to celebrate scoring for Liverpool against Everton in the Merseyside derby was very funny and memorable. His goal and belly flop in front of the Everton bench was the perfect response to David Moyes assertions that Suarez is a serial diver. He is of course, but his Klinsmannesque celebration was still class. Javier Hernandez’s winner for Man United against Chelsea appeared to be offside. In such a situation the attacking team is supposed to get the benefit of the call, so why the uproar in the media when Hernandez did? Chelsea fans can’t help themselves. They constantly booed Man United defender Rio Ferdinand during their loss at Old Trafford in a shameful show of support for their fallen hero John Terry. And then when Hernandez scored United’s winner, Chelsea fans in the Matthew Harding Stand, threw coins and objects including a seat at the celebrating United players. It was nice to see the nouveau fans returning to the roots of the old Chelsea that English football knows so well. All that was missing was some Nazi salutes, hissing and the chant of “no one likes us we don’t care.” I wonder what Ledley King thought of it all. There were a lot of contentious decisions made in games last weekend, but many in the media seem to have overlooked Arsenal’s winner against Queens Park Rangers. Mikel Arteta was in an offside position when Olivier Giroud first shot on goal. When the ball rebounded to him off the cross bar the linesman’s flag should have gone up immediately, but he seemed to be wearing Arsene Wenger designed glasses and missed the infringement.

When Spurs took to the field at Southampton they wore a hideous grey kit reminiscent of the one worn by Manchester United in the 1995-96 season when they were hammered at The Dell by the Saints. Spurs managed to win the game and are off to their second best start in the Premier League era, sit in one of the Champions League qualifying places, and have earned more points per game than during the Harry Redknapp reign. And still there are pundits who doubt Andre Villas-Boas ability as a manager. Paul Lambert is a good manager and will be successful at some point in his career. He may not get the chance to achieve it at Aston Villa where the manager’s role is looking more and more like a poisoned chalice. It may take Villa being relegated like Newcastle United and Man City in recent years in order for the club to come back stronger. They are one of English football’s greatest clubs, more so than Chelsea for example, and their long-suffering fans deserve some success. Right now the former European Cup winners are a long way off their glory days. Fans and media critics alike love to hone in on players who dive in order to con referees. But what about players who argue for throw-ins or corners which are clearly not in their team’s favor? Is this not cheating too? What about pulling an opponent’s shirt in the penalty area at a corner or impeding a keeper on the same play? Or how about manager’s tapping up players or commenting through their media surrogates about signing them from their current club? Why focus on player’s diving when there are other such incidents in the game that should also be labeled as cheating?